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Natalie Portman: 'Black Swan' almost killed me

Natalie Portman is now reaping the rewards of her intense performance in "Black Swan" — but it wasn't always award nominations and red carpets.

"There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die," she told EW recently about playing perfection-obsessed ballerina Nina Sayers.

"It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down."

Portman indeed reaches terrifying places is Darren Aronofsky's sexually charged fever-dream of a film, but Portman was more concerned about the movie finding an audience. And then she realized that lady-loving with Mila Kunis would save the day.

"I remember them being like, 'How do you get guys to a ballet movie? How do you get girls to a thriller?' And the answer is a lesbian scene," she said.